Secrets of the Wolves
by twilightXgirl14
Summary: Red finds out her Gran has been helping the wolves, but other clans aren't so happy. When Red meets a wolf in school, everything changes. Will she lose everything to help her Gran and the wolves?
1. Chapter 1

I woke up to a dismal winter morning. There was no snow again today and everything looked so lifeless without the snow. It was all just dead looking. The forest looked barren without the snow and ice covering the branches, or the snow making the fir tree's branches sag under the weight. I threw on a hoodie over my t-shirt and pj pants and my feet were still warm in my socks. But I hated leaving my warm, comfy bed. The forest stood still through the window of my room. I loved looking at the forest through the wonderful bay window in my room. But today, I had things to do. Like, finish my homework for tomorrow, and do chores around the house while my parents were at church. I would go, but the house was left to me on Sunday, and I was to visit my grandma. I visited her every Sunday. She was too old to go out during the winter, to make the trip to the church. And she didn't think she had to go to church to pray and be close to God. Which is how I looked at it too. I grabbed my book bag, and car keys, and headed out to my car. I always did my homework at Grandma's house while she knitted or something. I loved going to her cottage in the heart of the woods. I could walk, but it was too dang cold. My faithful truck started like it always did, sputtering to life in any weather. I cranked up the heat and drove off to my Grandma's house. I also brought us cookies and sweets to munch on. Grandma still had a sweet tooth after all these years. She even got denture glue so she could eat candy. She was a sweet old lady, and I loved her so much. Sometimes I loved her than my own parents. I didn't agree with everything my parents believed in, and they pressured me to be someone I'm not. I was always forced into doing things I didn't want to do, like dance and singing and everything. But my grandma listened to me and let me be whoever I wanted to be. She didn't really agree with my parents either. They were too concerned with the appearance of things, what other people thought, but I didn't care what people though of me. Then my grandmother's house came into view and I smiled. I turned off my old truck and gathered up my things. I went to open up the door but it was locked, so I knocked loudly, as my grandmother was hard of hearing. She came to the door quickly, and looked...relieved that it was me. Her door was always unlocked.

"Hey Gran," I said and she quickly shut and locked the door behind me.

"Hey." Her words were clipped and rushed.

"Something wrong?" I asked heistantly, making my way into the living room where I put down my book bag and sat cross-legged on the floor.

"Oh, I've just heard some things. Your mom warned me." I couldn't help but laugh at this.

"Since when do you listen to mom's warnings?" I asked.

"Well, darling, your mom is smarter than she seems sometimes." Is all she said before smiling her usual smile and settling back into her chair and began knitting, which was her sign that the discussion was done and to move onto happier things. That was always her sign that she was done talking about something, she always settled back, smiled and sighed and either became quiet or changed the subject. I began my homework.

"Gran, do you mind if I stayed with you tonight?" I asked, I was worried for my grnamother. It wasn't because she was old or frail, heck, I wouldn't want to cross her on a bad day, she was a scary old lady. But because she was my grandma, and I just wanted to know what was going on.

"Oh, but it's a school night honey." She said, not even looking up.

"I know. I just really want to stay with you. I haven't spent the night with you in a long time, and I already have clothes here and everything." I said.

"I dont' think that's a good idea." Is all she said.

"You're worrying me. I want to know what's going on." I told her, stopping my work. Gran sighed and looked at me.

"I don't quite think it's the right time to tell you, but I can't keep it from you forever. There are things in the woods, my little Red, dangerous things. Just promise me you won't go looking for those things. And they're getting closer, getting braver, evolving so to speak." My eyes felt like they were going to pop out of my head.

"Like, the wolves?" I asked. Gran nodded.

"They aren't just wolves. They're shifters, half human half wolf. They used to stick to the inner forests, in their own villages, only coming out when they need to, but now, people are encroaching on their turf, and they will stop at nothing. I sometimes take in hurt wolves, nursing them back to health after fights, they happen from time to time. And your mom hated it. She thought they were savages, beneath us. But that didn't stop me." Gran had now stopped her knitting and was getting very into her story.

"But now new groups of wolves are forming, to take out the humans, to start a war. And wars are breaking out amongst the clans. And they aren't happy that I help the wolves. They don't trust any humans, I'm scared for my wolves, Red." Gran said. I had never seen her this worried. I was just trying to figure things out, after all, how many times do you find out werewolves are real, but something is making them evolve?

"Gran, what do you mean, evolve?" I asked, not even knowing if I wanted to know.

"Well, the old generation of wolves, the ones I cared for as a young child, only turned into humans on full moons. Like the legends. But as time went on, and humans encroached on their territory, they were able to form into humans freely during the warm spring months and throughout the summer, and now, there are wolves that can change anytime, and any place they choose. A few of them started their own clans, and decided to wipe out all the humans around them, to start their own civilization I guess, and to take down all the humans that help them. I'm not the only one Regina. There are others like me, who take care of the wolves, who help them birth the babies, or tend to wounds when war breaks out. But you have your traditionalists, who think they should be able to care for themselves, and should avoid humans at all costs. But some of the new wolves are thankful for my help, and the help of others. And they are wanting to socialize with the humans, but undercover of course." Gran said grinning, she was obviously fond of this idea. "But please be careful my granddaughter, I do not want you to go looking for trouble where you don't belong. Leave the helping to me, and I will call on you if I need your help. Just go back to your homework, and promise me you won't tell your mother I told you anything." She winked at me and I nodded happily. It would be our little secret.


	2. Chapter 2

I didn't end up staying the night with my grandma, I wasn't sure I was ready to meet her wolves. Maybe in time, but not now. I still had a lot to think about. I was worried about her and the war between the wolves, but I did have school tomorrow, and I knew I would get even less sleep at Gran's house than I would at my own home. I peered through my window in my room through the forest. I remember playing in the woods as a small child but now I wondered why nothing had happened to me. Had the wolves not discovered me or did they at least have some ethics and morals? But what about now, if they found out I knew about them. Surely they would have seen me with my Gran at one point, and probably figured she told me, or not. I had no idea, but I was determined to get more answers than the ones Gran had given me. I also knew that she would tell me everything in time, when it was the right moment. She was all about that, waiting until the perfect moment to do something. Of course I couldn't ask my mom, Gran had been perfectly clear that mom wanted nothing to do with the wolves or the forest, but why did she move so close? I was going to have to do some detective work. But school was calling me, that meant I had all day to think of questions. Who cared about school work when there were werewolves in the forest. Everyone was whispering when I got to first hour, and I finally noticed what all the commotion was when I sat down in my seat. There was a person next to me that definitely wasn't there last week.

"Hey." I said, smiling. The boy, a very attractive boy, just nodded at me and focused on is English book as if it were suddenly going to get up and walk away.

"I'm Regina. Reggie for short if you'd like," I said, still smiling, turned in my seat to face him. The challenge was on now, I was going to get him to talk whether he liked it or not.

"I like Regina. And I'm Patrick." He said, briefly meeting my eyes. They were a deep hazel color.

"Nice to meet you." I said, trying to suppress my grin of triumph. The teacher told us to quiet down and we began our lesson. It was boring, and on top of my wondering about the wolves in the forest, my thoughts drifted to Patrick, it was really hard to concentrate when he was so close. There was just something about him. I shook my thoughts and really tried to focus on school, but my teacher was so boring and I couldn't help but doodle Patrick's eyes in the margin of my notes. The teacher called on me and I hastily covered up my drawings. Luckily, I answered the question correctly, which got a chuckle from Patrick. My cheeks flushed as I tried to scribble out my drawings. The rest of the morning past uneventfully, passing by Patrick every now and then in the hallway but then lunch came, and to my surprise he came up to me and asked if he could sit with me at lunch. Of course I let him. I was sure I would get glares from all the other girls, and my friends would be giggly, which I warned him about. All he did was just grin and follow me into the lunch line. I really didn't know what to say, but it did give me a chance to get a good look at him. He had a bit of scruff, and his eyes of course. Under his shirt you could tell he definitely worked out, and he was probably 6 feet tall, about 6 inches taller than me. I asked him the usual boring questions like how his classes were going, if he liked it here, where he transfered from. The last one he answered with hesitance, which was odd. Wouldn't people answer right away to that question? Maybe he was homeschooled and didn't want to admit it. I was so glad I wasn't home schooled. Public school was the best. As soon as we got in line, my thoughts went to the disgusting choices in front of me. At least it wasn't meatloaf day or something. I grabbed a pretzel and some cheese and a drink and payed. I waited for Patrick to get through the line and showed him to my table. It was our own little piece of the school, or so we liked to think. Patrick muttered his hello's as all of my friends giggled like I knew they would and blushed at his small grin. Of course they all thought that he was grinning at them. But they knew it was I who had befriended him, and that without me they wouldn't have a chance for meeting him. I wondered why no one else had tried talking to him. I knew my friends weren't that shy as to just pass by him without either staring or saying something. But that's just the kind of people they were. Me, I was the shy one, but something about Patrick made me want to talk and find more about him. He was...intriguing and I didn't really know how I felt about this. I knew I would catch a lot of crap from my friends about letting him sit with us. Not that they would believe me if I said I wasn't interested, or at least looking. But why would someone like Patrick want to go out with me? I pushed the thoughts from my head. I had more important thing to worry about, such as my Gran's wolves. It caused my stomach to flip-flop. I wondered if she would answer more of my questions later. Too bad I couldn't talk to mom about it. I really didn't want her to get worried, or blame Gran. It was weird for me not to be able to talk to my mom about something, I didn't care for it at all. All throughout lunch my friends giggled and fawned over Patrick. Oh yes, I forgot to mention, he has a thick Irish accent. It's really hot. After lunch was over, he wanted to know if he could come over to my house, he looked really serious about it so I said okay and told him to meet me at my locker after school. The rest of the day passed by without much thought and I stood by my locker with my book bag waiting on Patrick. He came down the hall, looking sullen as ever. He was going to be hard to crack.

All the way to my house was pretty much silence. Although I did manage to get out of him that he lives in Ireland, Northern Ireland to be exact. Which is not the same thing as Ireland, and he was over here with his father for business. And he hated to be called Pat or Rick. But there weren't really any businesses around here, not big ones anyway. Maybe he was staying with relatives or something.


	3. Chapter 3

There was no way Patrick could be on to me and my Gran, there was no possible way he could have heard, unless he was a werewolf. But weren't the new wolves the only ones that could change at will? I would definitely have to talk to Gran about it.

"You have that look at again. You are very easy to read Regina." Patrick told me, in that irresistible accent.

"So, why did you want to come to my house anyway?" I asked, trying to get my nerves back under control. "Well, I could make up some lame excuse on how I didn't get the math lesson, but I don't want to lie, its shows disrespect for the person being lied to." Patrick said, although I knew he wasn't going to tell me the whole truth.

"I want to get to know you. You seem very...unlike the other people at school. You don't seem dull or dimwitted, or boring. In fact, you are quite the opposite." Patrick responded, staring at me as if I were a different species or something. It was kind of creepy. Red flags were definitely going off in my mind, but other than Gran warning me, there was nothing Patrick had done to make me not trust him.

"Thanks?" I said hesitantly. Patrick just nodded, so I was going to keep taking it as a complement. I needed to feel him out, to see if he would divulge any information that would confirm my suspicions of him being the wolf prince. I mean, it was pretty obvious and everything, but I wanted to be sure. Maybe Patrick was simply in the wrong place at the wrong time, but there was the whole Irish accents. How many Irish boys came with their father to America? Certainly not very many. I was almost sure that if they did, they wouldn't be as handsome and as regal as Patrick acted. I couldn't even imagine what his dad looked like, or acted like. If he was annoyingly cocky, it would be such a let down. If his son was this handsome, then his father was certain to be drop-dead handsome looks. But what about his mother? Gran had said nothing about the wolf queen. I would have to ask her about that too. My mind was nearly spinning with how many questions I needed to ask Gran.

"So, what bring you here to my little neck of the woods?" I asked, making myself comfortable on the couch, and patting the seat next to me, motioning for Patrick to sit down. His muscles tensed for a moment before relaxing slightly, then sitting down next to me.

"Oh you know, the usual. Me and my dad just wanted a change of scenery." He said casually, as if he were also trying to fool himself into believing the exact same lie. I also got the feeling he knew that I knew he was lying as well.

"Surely that can't be all of it. Most people have a legit reason other than just wanting a change of scenery. Why not move somewhere...better, like Italy, or somewhere. But here?" I asked, raising my eyebrow, seemingly interested. I already knew the answer, and at this point, his eyes gave it away, he knew I was onto him. Patrick scooted closer to me on the couch. "Let's not play this game all day Regina." His breath was warm on my ear as he whispered to me. He smelled really good, like the forest and it was intoxicating. But I couldn't give in, my brain sprung into high alert.

"I'm asking a simple question." I told him, leaning away from him.

"You know perfectly well what I'm talking about." Patrick growled, his voice low. This time it held a different tone. Patrick leaned closer. I leaned farther away.

"Oh naive little Regina. You can't fool me. You are a horrible liar. I can see right through you." He told me, doing the whole staring into my soul thing. " You know who I am, and I know who you are, so if we could please just move on from that. I'm finding you very distracting." His voice was low and husky now, and he closed the gap between us and kissed my neck softly, his warm breath causing my skin to become prickly with goosebumps. Then his kisses were placed along my jaw, so close to my mouth. I wanted him to kiss me, I really did. But somehow I managed to break my trance and stood up quickly.

"Stop." I told him firmly, staring at him.

"Okay, as you wish, my princess, my little Red." My heart stopped. No one knew my nickname besides my Gran and my mom and dad.

"I'm not your little Red." I growled, backing up, suddenly stopping when my back hit the wall. Then Patrick was in front of me, staring down at me as if I was his next meal. My heart went from stopping to pounding out of my chest.

"I didn't mean to frighten you Regina. I meant no harm. I was only commenting on your red hair." He said, his voice calm and cool.

"Whatever. I'm still not yours, nor will I ever be."

"Oh, you are sadly mistaken Regina." He said. I shivered.

"I think you need to leave." I told him firmly.

"I'm not going anywhere." Patrick said, as he kissed my neck again, nibbling slightly. A slow breath fell from my lips, I was in that trance again, but I mustered enough energy to break it.

"STOP!" I yelled and pushed him away. His eyes showed shock, bewilderment.

"Leave, now." My voice was stronger than it had ever been. Patrick nodded once, then let himself out of my house, and I fell down the wall, until I hit the floor, and I reached for my phone, my hands shaking.

"Hey, Gran. Yeah, I'm okay. But there are some things I need to tell you, and I need to ask. Why did Patrick call me his little princess?" I asked, almost in tears. It took Gran a while to respond.

"Regina, there are some things I need to tell you. Things I should have told you long ago. The women of our family have a curse. I was hoping it wouldn't come to this. There is no turning back now Regina, you are in this whether you want to be or not. He has chosen you. You have to be strong my little Red, be strong for me..." The phone went dead.

"GRAN!" I screamed, then I started running.


	4. Chapter 4

I ran as fast as I could, my heart pounding and burning with each step, until I reached Gran's house.

"Regina!" My Gran said, her eyes swollen and puffy from crying.

"They must have cut the phone lines." She said as she locked the door. Then she hugged me tightly, squeezing the remaining air from my lungs. "Come into the living room." She said, shuffling into the cozy den. Steam was billowing from a tea pot sitting on her coffee table. I snuggled into the old couch, opposite of her chair. Her lights were on and the curtains were drawn.

"Don't fear Regina. There is nothing to fear. Knowledge is power. And they won't attack now. My wolves are surrounding the house, we will be alerted of any attack, and we will hear it. But the King and Prince know better to attack. Especially since he has chosen you. They won't risk hurting you. Now about this curse business." She said, sipping her tea.

"But Gran, I'm scared." I told her, my voice shaking.

"Oh honey." Gran just smiled at me sympathetically. "There is no reason to be scared...well, not now. I'm not going to sugar coat things either." She nodded and leaned back into her chair, sipping her tea. How I wished I could just be having a normal conversation with my grandma. Normalcy was so out of the question now.

"I should start by telling you the whole thing, well, shortened of course, for the sake of time. It started when I was a young girl. I was infatuated with the woods. Everything about it entranced me. I noticed things other people didn't. I knew the woods, this very woods outside my home, like the back of my hands." Grandma paused for a moment. I loved her stories. Then I began to think, I really didn't know much about my Grandmother's history. This was probably why. How can you explain to a little child that you were in charge of a pack of werewolves.

"One day I noticed a hurt wolf in a clearing. I was scared at first, but it looked at me. The strangest part was that it's eyes showed no fear, and they were human. I thought I was seeing things. I couldn't help but walk up to it and inspect it's wounds. It just laid there. Deep in my gut I knew something horrible had taken place here. So I told it that if it could walk, I would take care of it." Grandma chuckled and shook her head. "And the damn thing did follow me. I don't know how it got the strength to do it, but it did. There was an old shed I kept him in while he was under my care. Elijah was the best companion to me. It turns out he had a small clan of his own, and one day I found a naked teenage boy, the same age as me, sitting in my shed. I asked him who in the hell he was. He told me his name was Elijah and he was a werewolf. As if this was a normal thing, I introduced myself. He thanked me over and over for taking care of him, and he would forever be in my debt. He had a wife back in the clan, and a brother also." Grandma's eyes changed, they were softer and lighter. Had Grandma...loved Elijah? This story was getting more and more intriguing.

"To make a long story slightly shorter, the clan Elijah was in, was in direct contact with the king. The main clan in the area. Elijah wanted to break away from the clan and serve me. He didn't like the king's rule and treatment of his people, so he did. As you probably know, the king wasn't to pleased about that and made a personal visit to my house. Luckily, I was the only one home. It took every ounce in my body not to spit at his feet. Elijah had told me the horrible things he had done. He let me in on a little secret, human are not, but any means, allowed to know about their existence. The wolves were changing though. They were not restricted by the moon, but they were able to shift during the summer and eventually spring months since humans were getting closer and closer to their territory, and they needed to blend in. Anyway, the king eventually cursed me , and my female ancestors, with forever being bound to this land and the wolves in it." I didn't want her to stop.

"But what about mom? She isn't cursed is she?" Gran shook her head.

"No, she isn't. Only because she had you, who showed great promise and since she had you, a daughter, she was able to...get rid of her promise." She explained.

"So what's this deal about the wolf prince 'chosing' me?" I asked, desperate for answers.

"Well, each wolf needs a mate. Sometimes, they find someone who is their soul mate. It appears young Patrick has chosen you. Whether or not you are his soul mate, versus the fact he knows your abilities and sees that as a major advantage is something I have yet to decide. But the king isn't happy that my wolves are growing in number, and some of the other clans have decided I am a threat, and that wolves should not have any contact with humans, and are superior to humans. They know my wolves have an extremely close bond with me, so they are ready to wipe us all out. The king, Damien, knows what the consequences are of clan wars. So he has come down to put an end to it. I do believe that the king is going to side with the other wolves, but since Patrick has chosen you..." Grandma trailed off, lost in thought. "He's going to try to manipulate you, Red, but you must not give into him. The king and prince come from a long line of powerful, manipulative rulers. It's what they have been bred for." Gran continued. All thoughts of how Gran and Elijah's story continued were lost as I contemplated my own story.

"Drink your tea dear." Grand said as she poured herself another cup. I just nodded and sipped slowly on mine, not even feeling the warm liquid. I just about had a heart attack when Grandma's front door burst open with a loud crack as it collided with the wall.

"Paul! What have I told you about that?" Gran said, eyeing the boy who had just come through the door. He hung his head.

"Sorry Elizabeth, but something is seriously wrong." He said, his eyes wide and his breathing was ragged. Grandma suddenly put down her tea and they went into the kitchen. I didn't want to hear, I was obviously meant not to hear anyway. They came back and Paul rushed back outside, Gran shut the door quickly behind him.

"Gran? Is everything okay?" I asked, unsure if I really wanted to know the answer.

"No Red, everything is not okay."


	5. Chapter 5

"Gran, you have to tell me right now." I was really scared, I could _feel_ something was wrong.

"One of the wolves was killed. Actually, it was Paul's brother." Gran looked...older, exhausted, and tears were spilling over her eyes. I jumped from the couch and wrapped my arms around her small body. It seemed kind of odd that she was crying so hard for one wolf. I mean, I knew she would be upset, but she seemed really...broken. It felt weird to be comforting my Gran, she was always the one to comfort me. I knew she really needed me right now.

"It wasn't just any wolf...it was Elijah." I didn't know what so say. What could I say? Right then I knew Gran had loved him with everything she had. Wait! That meant Paul was the brother to Elijah, in the story Gran told me earlier! I couldn't believe it. Whoever the killer was would have to had known Gran loved Elijah. He wasn't even the leader of the clan. The king...Damien, or Patrick. Gran was right, and I realized how bad of a position I had put myself in by being in my house alone with him. I had to avoid him at all costs, but I had school with him! I knew he would follow me around and watch me. Maybe I could call in sick tomorrow. I was a pretty food faker.

"Gran I'm so sorry. Let's just go have another cup of tea. But you loved him, didn't you." I asked, although I already knew the answer. Maybe she would tell me something new, something to piece together the story. Gran seemed to be in a trance, just moving along, as if all reason for living had been taken from her. I wondered what happened to Elijah's wife. There was something bigger going on here, and I was determined to find out. There was no way Gran could take care of the wolves at a time like this. I would have to help her, get her back to functioning and being my sweet but tough little Gran.

"Yes, I loved him. I've never really admitted it until just now. At first Paul was unsure about our relationship and me taking care of the wolves, but he warmed up to the idea after he got hurt and I nursed him back to health. I knew Elijah and his wife had just gotten married for convenience, they were best friends, and knew they wouldn't find one better, or that understood the lifestyle. Lilly was pregnant and gave birth, but the baby didn't make it. They hadn't called me. I always felt slightly betrayed that they hadn't called on my help. The baby would still could be alive. I think deep down Elijah really did love her, and he was never really the same after their baby died. We did see each other when he was human, and we did love each other." Gran was in a trance, and her words didn't hold any tone. She was just reliving the past, trying to cling to any memory she had left of Elijah. I didn't know the last time they had seen each other. Then she started crying again.

"Red, I don't know how I'm going to take care of them, how I can bear their looks of sadness and loss. I know they realized me and Elijah were seeing each other. He cheated on me with Lilly! They're going to hate me. I can't face them." Sobs wracked her frail body and I poured her a new cup of tea and wrapped her in a blanket. I ran to the front door.

"PAUL!" I yelled into the wind, knowing he would be close by, or some wolf would that would understand my cry for help. I knew my voice sounded desperate, and I was on the verge of tears myself. A wolf came tearing through the forest, then phased as it approached the house. I didn't think the regular wolves could do that. I looked away as soon as I realized he was naked. I was probably going to have to get used to that.

"What is it? First, let me put some clothes on." He let himself into the house and went into the spare bedroom and came out fully clothed. So there were clothes and whatever else in the spare bedroom. I would have to make sure the resources were stocked.

"Gran can't handle it. She's in a fragile state...um, I need someone to watch over her, to make sure she's okay. In the meantime...I'm going to take over. I think I know enough to help with the wolves. I'm a part of this battle too. I'm sure she told you the prince, Patrick, chose me. I can't run away now." Paul nodded solemnly, understanding.

"I knew the news of Elijah's death would hit her hard. I have just the person for the job. I think we need to call a clan meeting. You're a very responsible young woman. I've heard so much about you, and I know you won't let us down Regina." Paul said, placing a hand on my shoulder. I tried to smile, but I started crying. He embraced me as if he had known me all of his life. In a way, I'm sure he did. By the way it sounded, she talked about me non stop. When I finally quit sobbing, he told me he was going to bring someone back, then it was time for the meeting. I nodded and went back to sit with Gran, who had drifted into a crying-induced nap. I waited until Paul came back with whoever he trusted enough to look after Gran. The door opened slowly and I watched as a woman walked through, looking as if she were unwelcome. Then she turned to me and she was the most beautiful woman I had ever seen. Her skin was dark and her hair was black and short, but it fit her oval face. I knew as soon as our eyes met that this was Lilly, Elijah's wife. Paul was right behind her and I motioned Gran was asleep.

"I can understand if she wouldn't want me here. We're practically strangers." Lilly told me. I shook me head.

"I know there is no one else my Gran would want right now. You both suffered a great loss today. I know you will both be a great comfort to each other right now." I spoke, my words and voice sounded much wiser than my sixteen years. Lilly smiled, and I could tell she was holding back tears. Paul nodded at me, and I knew it was time for the clan meeting.

"Is there somewhere safe we can meet. I don't think it would be wise for us to have it in the forest, and Gran's house is too small." I was thinking really hard about where we could meet where the King wouldn't have spies. My phone started ringing in my pocket and I picked it up.

"Regina Anne Perrault! Where are you!" I cringed as my mother's voice boomed through the phone.

"Oh shoot. I forgot to leave a note didn't I. I honestly didn't think I'd be that long. I wanted to know if I could spend the night with Gran. I'm in the middle of my homework, Gran already said it was alright with her." What my mom didn't know wouldn't kill her.

"Alright. But don't ever pull something like this again Regina. You had me seriously worried. I've heard some rumors around town." Little did she know, Gran had already told me those "rumors" and I was playing a serious part in them right now...aaaand I was soon going to be surrounded by shifters. If she found out, I think she would be seriously angry. Paul mouthed we should get going.

"Okay mom. Love you." Then I hung up, might as well make her even more mad! I walked up to Lilly and gave her a hug.

"Thank you so much for doing this." I whispered so only she could hear.

"I've always respected your grandmother. I know she loved Elijah, and I hope to get to know the woman that he loved as well." Her eyes shone, and there was no anger or resentment. So she had known. Poor Gran was going to be so confused when she woke up, but I hoped she would be proud of me, and get to know Lilly. I just had a feeling they would become really close friends and bring comfort to each other during their time of grief. Now it was time for the counsel.

"They might not greet you warmly at first, but they will see your determination and that you are extremely wise beyond your years." Paul reassured me as we stepped out of the cottage. "And don't worry, they will all be clothed too." He chuckled and my cheeks flushed. I hadn't realized how much time had passed, it was already dusk and growing darker by the second.

"Well, let's get the party started, and let's hope there aren't any spies around." I said as I followed Paul into the forest.


End file.
